Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Desert

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Uncommon

About

This cactus grows in the arid deserts of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Its tiny, barbed bristles called glochids detach upon contact to lodge in animal skin.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Caryophyllales

Family

Cactaceae

Genus

Opuntia

Species

Opuntia engelmannii